Defiant
Time Isn’t Healing
(Ferrrum Records)
Throwing up horns all of the way from the Ukraine, we have the heavy/power metallers Defiant. This is actually their sophomore outing, being that the debut was released in their native language back in ’13. Prior to that, the band released an EP and just before this album, there was another EP release (again, in their native tongue) just last year. As you can see, Time Isn’t Healing is the band’s first release in the English language and an attempt to appeal to the masses at large. It boasts twelve tracks and approximately an hour’s worth of playing time to boot, which really shows that the band wanted to do something really monumental this time around. From observation, I can judge that the act certainly have it covered as far as musicality is concerned. This is almost certainly power metal and it’s quite synth heavy. Adding to that, we have some slight progressive sections as well as some menacing grooves and hefty chugs. In fact, you might recognize some of these on “Funeral Feast” which we streamed here a few months back. With many tracks right along the same line, we can certainly say that these guys (and gal – the lineup has changed quite a bit, don’t trust Metal Archives on this one) have their fingers firmly gripped upon the massive Claymore that is power metal. At least as far as a musical construct is concerned. If I’m not hearing great guitar work, I’m hearing absolutely staggering keyboard compositions, which make the band a real treat to listen to in that area.
But it’s time for me to stop beating around the bush and admit that the vocals aren’t really working for me. Granted, their frontman is really trying here – some of his choruses really hit – but when it comes down to it, I feel that I’m listening to a man stumbling along the vocal lines, which can at most times seem incredibly out of tune. But as I’ve said, it’s not completely unlistenable in that regard, with a couple of numbers like “The Grief” allowing for a bit more accessibility. You have to give these guys credit, as they’re definitely playing off the likes of greats like Symphony X, especially during their more thrash-influenced days. If we judge the tracks as a whole without the vocal element, we’re going to find a band with real talent in this industry. It is just a shame that the vocal element of which is such a major part of this package, is sorely lacking on most, if not all fronts. Once again, it simply depends on how willing you are to sail through the record and judge each track by it’s own merits. Simply put, Defiant are a solid power metal band with a lot of potential, but they can be a bit tough to listen to. Let’s just leave it at that.
Purchase Time Isn’t Healing here.
